Wake Up Koala!

Type:

Mobile Unity Game

Year:

2016

Role:

Systems and Mechanics Designer, Level Designer, Programmer

Team Size:

18

Link:

“Wake Up Koala!” was the 2015-2016 senior capstone project: a mobile, casual game developed over the course of a full academic year, in partnership with the Sjögren’s Foundation, to promote awareness of the Sjögren’s autoimmune disorder. Wake Up Koala avoids some of the traditional pitfalls of “Games for health,” instead only making subtle use of Sjögren’s as design inspiration. The aim is to raise money for the foundation, and direct players to learn more on their own, while providing a typical enjoyable casual game experience.

The project required extensive collaboration in a large team of students with faculty direction: multiple programmers, designers and artists, each with specialized areas. I was part of the original proposal team, and worked with other designers to develop the game’s core mechanics. I later contributed to the game’s massive 100-plus pool of puzzles, with a focus on level progression and player-teaching.

Wake Up Koala! has an official website, and is also available for download on the Google Play store.